A financial independence journey fueled by passive income

Month: February 2015

Chatter Around the World is a curated weekly update of articles related to economics, investing, dividends and personal finance. In these weekly updates, I also capture my blog updates and news related to my portfolio holdings.

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) announced a dividend raise from a quarterly amount of $0.47 to $0.51, an increase of 8.5%. The new dividend is payable on Apr 30, 2015 for shareholders on record on Apr 7, 2015, with an ex-div date on Apr 3, 2015.

February sure is turning into a month which is exceeding my own expectations of purchases and putting cash to work. I made one last purchase before the end of the month. I was originally planning this purchase for the next month, but as is the case, the stock market provides some catalyst that is hard to predict and an investor has to take a decision and move. Moreover, if an investor’s mind is made up to invest in something, there’s no point in holding off and is better to pull the trigger. This new purchase adds a new company to my portfolio – my 26th individual company (excluding the ETFs).

Magna International Inc (MG.TO)(MGA) announced a dividend raise from a quarterly amount of US$0.38 to US$0.44, an increase of 16%. The new dividend is scheduled to be paid Mar 27, 2015 for shareholders on record on Mar 13, 2014. In addition, Magna announced that the stock will be split two-for-one. The stock split will occur before the new dividend payment (so, dividend payment amount will be US$0.22 post split), on Mar 25, 2015 to shareholders on record at the close of business on Mar 11, 2015.

I recently finished reading the book Richest Man in Babylon, a book by George S Clason. There were some interesting parts in the book, and I thought it was a decent read for someone who isnt aware of their personal finances and struggles with it. I realize that there are plenty of folks out there who struggle with grasping the concept of saving and investing and fall into the traps of overspending their hard earned money. However, I just couldn’t figure out why this book is so popular and recommended by one and all. Don’t get me wrong, I thought there was some value in the concepts outlined, but anyone who spends a little bit of time thinking about personal finance can figure these concepts out and there are plenty of other resources available in these days, that can educate starters more easily. The book is also elaborate with quasi-repetitive stories, which I thought was unnecessary and could’ve been wrapped in less than half the pages dedicated to the stories.